By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

At Sanremo 2026, Ermal Meta transformed a lullaby into an act of public denunciation, bringing the pain of children killed by Israel in Gaza onto Italy’s most iconic stage.

Key Takeaways

• “Stella Stellina” reimagines a traditional nursery rhyme as a lament for a girl lost to war.
• During his performance, Ermal Meta stitched the name “Amal” onto his shirt collar.
• The gesture sparked political debate within the context of the Festival.
• The scale of child casualties in Gaza gives the artist’s act deeper resonance.

Ermal Meta Brings Palestine to Sanremo

The Festival di Sanremo, founded in 1951, is Italy’s most prestigious music competition and one of Europe’s most-watched television events. It is more than a song contest: it is a cultural institution that shapes public discourse and collective memory.

The stage of the Teatro Ariston has often served as a platform for symbolic gestures. Over the years, artists and guests have used those few minutes of national broadcast time to express social, civic, and political messages.

In 2026, it was Ermal Meta who did so. The Albanian-born, Italian naturalized singer-songwriter won the Festival in 2018 with “Non mi avete fatto niente” and later represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest.

His artistic career has frequently engaged themes of memory, war, and collective responsibility.

A Broken Lullaby

“Stella Stellina”(Star, Little Star) takes the form of a traditional children’s rhyme, only to overturn it. The central figure is an absent child — unnamed, unseen, but painfully present through loss.

During the performance, Meta made a silent but powerful gesture: stitched onto the collar of his shirt was the name “Amal,” which means “hope” in Arabic. Amal became the symbolic protagonist of the lullaby, representing the young lives cut short by Israel during the genocide in Gaza.

The gesture was not explained aloud. It was left to the audience — and to television viewers — to notice and interpret.

Children Killed in Gaza: The Numbers

According to a study published in the respected medical journal The Lancet, the total number of deaths in Gaza during the first 15 months of war exceeds 75,000.

Estimates indicate that a disproportionately high percentage of those killed are women and children. Thousands of minors have been reported killed, injured, or missing beneath the rubble.

The figures cited by The Lancet surpass even those reported by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and by the United Nations, which have documented more than 20,000 children killed during the genocide.

Meanwhile, civilian infrastructure — schools, hospitals, residential buildings — has been systematically targeted. UNICEF and other international agencies have described the situation as one of the gravest humanitarian crises facing children in the world today.

Full Lyrics

Star, little star
The night is drawing near
A prayer is not enough
To stop thinking about it

From the hill we wait for spring
But what once was is gone
You are no longer here

I found your doll
For a moment I thought I saw you again
You were so small
You held it until evening

Has an eternity passed
Or only an hour
Since a cloud in the sky
Rose from your house
From my house

Star, little star
The night is drawing near
A prayer is not enough
To stop thinking about it

From the hill we wait for spring
But what once was is gone
You are no longer here

I tried to tear my heart out
Because without it one does not die
But I was afraid, in that moment
Of no longer feeling anything

I even thought of running away
From a land that does not want us
But I do not know where to go
Between walls and sea I cannot remain

Star, little star
The night is drawing near
A prayer is not enough
To stop thinking about it

From the hill we wait for spring
But what once was is gone
You are no longer here

Flowers in a courtyard surrounded by stones
Like butterflies you lived only one day
Child of no one, melody of a song
The song of those who loved you so much

Oh, my child, the night is dark, so dark
Anger and prayer will no longer be enough
From the hill a spring will come
In the evening wind you will be there too

Star, little star
The night is drawing near
A prayer is not enough
To stop thinking about it

From the hill a spring will come
In the evening wind you will be there too

I have not forgotten you
I wait for your return
Like butterflies
You lived only one day

(The Palestine Chronicle)